The Papers of Barry Marks represent one collection housed within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM). These papers reflect the effort, beginning in the 1960s through the late 1980s, of thousands of American Jews of all denominations and political orientations to stop the persecution and discrimination of Jews in the Soviet Union. The American Soviet Jewry Movement
(ASJM) is considered to be the most influential movement of the American Jewish community in the 20th century. The beginnings of the organized American Soviet Jewry Movement became a model for efforts to aid Soviet Jews in other countries, among them Great Britain, Canada, and France. The movement can be traced to the early 1960s, when the first organizations were created to address the
specific problem of the persecution and isolation of Soviet Jews by the government of the Soviet Union.

A spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Springfield, IL, Rabbi Barry Marks is a founder of the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association, which has promoted social justice and racial and religious harmony since the mid-1970s. He is an advocate and volunteer for numerous other local organizations serving children, the sick and the disadvantaged. Rabbi Barry Marks became involved in the
Soviet Jewry movement in the 1960s, when he was a student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and continued his activism during the following decades. 1

The collection reflects Rabbi Marks' and the Springfield, IL Jewish community's involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement. The events documented in the collection are:

The historic Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jewry rally that was held on the eve of the 1987 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Washington, D. C., which Rabbi Marks attended with a group representing Springfield, IL Jewish community.

Southern Illinois University conferment of adjunct appointments on a group of Soviet Refusenik scientists and academics, stripped of professional credentials by the Soviet authorities as punishment for attempts to leave the USSR and human rights activism. The conferment was coordinated and publicized by Rabbi Marks (1983-1984).

A photo exhibit on Jewish life in the USSR, held in the Springfield public library, that was sponsored by the Springfield, IL Jewish Community Relations Council (1984).

The rally at the Illinois State Capitol in February 1987 that was coordinated by the Springfield JCRC and featured Rabbi Marks as a keynote speaker.

Also included in the collection is a 1966 newsletter from Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) and texts of several radio talks regarding Soviet Jewry given by Rabbi Marks in the 1980s.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Collections and Engagement of the American Jewish Historical Society,
except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact: